Serial killers' chatroom
At the end of "Trophy Girl", there is a portion of chat from an on-line group of serial killers and their ilk. Besides a visible portion of the computer screen, there is voiceover of the entry made by a chatroom member who uses the name "Rosebud". One of the members of the chatroom, Christopher Scheer, is in prison for a series of murders in which he preserved the bodies of his victims, whence his nickname (and on-line username), "The Mortician". Because a similar crime has been committed in Toronto, the homicide detective assigned to the case, Nick Knight, goes to the prison to interview Scheer in the hope that he may have some insight into the psychology of killers who treat their victims' corpses in this way. To persuade Scheer to speak, he must offer an incentive. Scheer has been barred from using the Internet; and Knight offers to persuade the warden to reinstate his computer privileges. Meanwhile, in case someone on line might be copying Scheer's modus operandi, the police investigate his contacts, one of whom is the mysterious "Rosebud", whose real identity they find difficult to uncover. Once the case is over and Scheer is allowed back on line, he contacts his favourite chatroom, whose members are pleased that he is able to join them again. Rosebud, who is particularly congratulatory, turns out to be Knight's master and nemesis, the vampire LaCroix. The chatroom screen The background is dark, either black or navy blue. On the left, in a vertical column, are the avatars (square pictorial symbols) representing the people on line, who all use pseudonyms. The following is the conversation about Scheer's return to the chatroom, a portion of which is also given in voiceover. Please note that not all of the conversation actually appears on screen; but possible missing words have been filled in to aid reading. The first two correspondents, Skull and Shark, are briefly congratulatory. It is hard to make out what their avatars might represent: the first is mostly white, and the second mostly blue. Skull writes: * Skullsays: So good to have you online again. Shark writes: * Shark says: Where have you been? We've missed [you]. Then Mortician (Christopher Scheer) responds. His avatar is a black cartoon head on a red ground. The head is roughly circular with a stylized hairline, and two small protuberances representing the ears. It has large white goggle eyes with black pupils, a white dot for the nose, and a short white bar for the mouth. Scheer writes: * Mortician says: Thanks to all of you for thin[king of me. Please] believe that I am back to stay. Finally, Rosebud (LaCroix) greets Mortician; his words appear on screen, but also in voiceover. Rosebud's avatar is difficult to make out, but may be a red rosebud on a dark blue ground. Unlike the others, he writes, without bothering to identify himself beyond the avatar. LaCroix says: * My dear friend, it's so good that you're back. The news of your most recent venture was quite entertaining. The circumstances surrounding your reemergence into our loose circle of friends inspired quite a flurry of chat. We're all glad that you're back. To lose someone of your singular wisdom from our forum, would have been quite a tragedy. Welcome back. Stay tuned. Yours, as ever, Rosebud. Category:Computer screens